Beware: The hidden dangers in your child's favorite breakfast cereals
Breakfast cereals still rank high among children's favorites. This option is also popular with parents, who don't have to worry about making breakfast on a busy morning. However, before you pour the cereal into the bowl, check the ingredients.
For years, manufacturers have been promoting breakfast cereals as the best choice for breakfast, and images of smiling children munching on a bowl of cereal bombard us from American family movies. The notes about vitamins and minerals on the packages can lull parents into a false sense of security. However, it’s worth taking a closer look because in the seemingly harmless balls, shells, and other shapes, you might find ingredients you wouldn't want to serve children first thing in the morning.
Avoid these cereals
Many, especially children, love sweet breakfast cereals. Their taste is undeniably tempting, dominated by sweetness. Sugar in cereals can appear in various forms, such as pure sugar or glucose syrup. Unfortunately, this is a simple sugar, which only provides the body with empty calories. It doesn't satisfy hunger for long and can contribute to fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Although they also contain complex carbohydrates in the form of starch and added vitamins, the amount of simple sugars means that these additions cannot save such a breakfast.
The World Health Organization recommends that there should be a maximum of 12.5 grams of sugar in 3.5 ounces of breakfast cereals. Unfortunately, many popular sweet cereals significantly exceed this value. You can protect against this in one way – read the labels and leave overly sweetened products on the shelf instead of serving them to your children.
What instead of sweet cereals?
This doesn't mean you have to completely change your eating habits and give up your favorite bowl of milk with additives. It's enough to reach for healthier substitutes, such as oatmeal or millet flakes, rich in fiber, which improves intestinal function and maintains a feeling of fullness for longer. You can prepare them with milk, yogurt, or fruits.
You can also find cereals without added sugar and with simple ingredients on the shelves. Thanks to growing consumer awareness, more and more of these options appear on the market. When choosing breakfast products, always read the labels and pay attention to the ingredients. By investing in healthier alternatives, we can provide ourselves with energy for the whole day and take care of our health.
